150 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 



whatever they may be, polished, the carriage removed to 

 its place, and before it is used again the inside and win- 

 dows should be put in order. 



To keep carriages looking well and free from stains as 

 long as possible, wash them shortly after coming to the 

 stable, if the hour of the night be not too late. If the 

 axles be common, grease with " crown soap," so that the 

 spots or stains will wash off again ; but if the axles are 

 one of the patents, use castor oil, which does not " gum," 

 and can in great part b3 washed off, and moreover, lasts 

 much longer than almost anything else, " Crown" soap 

 is now much used by steam marine engineers, for certain 

 parts of the machinery. Crown soap is simply the Scotch 

 soft-soap, but differs very much both in appearance and 

 material from the American soft-soap. It is made with 

 whale or cod oil and lie of potassa, the oil giving a dark 

 brown color to it, and by the addition of a small proportion 

 of tallow, the solid white granulations of stearate of potassa 

 are formed, giving the appearance of the meat of figs. 

 Soft-soaps made from fats, give a dirty white color or shade. 



The crown soap is largely imported into this country, 

 and is chiefly used in our private stables for harness, sad- 

 dles, bridles and leather, saving the necessity of greasing 

 or oiling, to keep them soft. In addition, we now recom- 

 mend it as a wheel-grease for common axles, which cannot 

 hold grease very long. The manufacturer of soap, who 

 will take hold of it, will no doubt reap a fair remuneration ; 

 for what is bought of it in England for three pence (6 



